Drum magazine for machine guns and automatic small arms



Feb. 23, 1932. L O ET AL 1,846,034

'DRIIM MAGAZINE FOR MACHINE GUNS AND AUTOMATIC SMALL ARMS Filed Jan. 15,1931 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 4 A 3 7 I o Feb. 23, 1932. i LARSSON ET AL1,846,034

DRUM MAGAZINE FOR MACHINE GUNS AND AUTOMATIC SMALL ARMS Filed Jan. 15.1931 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 d-AL I. 1 7

Patented Feb. 23, 1932 UNETE SF CARL ALFRED LARSSON AND PERCY REUBENBIG-SON, ASSIGNORS TO VICKERS-ARMSTRONGS LIMITED,

BRITISH COMPANY OF WESTMINSTER, ENGLAND,

DRUM MAGAZINE FOR MACHINE GUNS AND AUTOIJIA'IIC SIVLALL ARMS Applicationfiled January 13, 1931, Serial No. 5G8,401, and

This invention relates to drum magazines for machine guns and automaticsmall arms, the said magazines being of the kind comprising a stationarypan portion provided 5 with a boss having a helical groove for thereception of the bullets of the cartridges, and with a helical supportor a number (three for example) of communicating compartments, for therim portions of the cartridges,

the said cartridges being a-ngularly displaced step by step during theworking of the gun in order to bring them one at a time into a dischargeopening in the base of the pan portion for engagement by the bolt of thegun, by means of a cover portion or impeller provided with spacingmembers carried thereby.

These spacing members have heretofore been 'constituted by pins rivetedto the said cover portion and it has been found that these are liable tobecome bent or broken during operation. vThe chief object of the resentinvention is to provide an improvec construction of spacing memberswhich will not be open to this objection.

According to the invention the spacing members are constituted byradially disposed walls which extend a substantial distance towards theaxis of rotation of the cover portion or impeller and which form partof, or are rigidly secured to, the latter. In one construction the wallsare constituted by the side members of U-shaped brackets rigidlyconnected to the cover portion and suitably spaced apart. Each of thesaid brackets and each of the spaces between them receives a cartridge.The transverse members of these brackets may be riveted to the coverportion and the outer part of each side member may receive a pin whichextends the whole depth of the side member and is riveted to the coverportion. Alternatively the walls may be formed by milling or otherwiseforming recesses or slots in a ring of substantial depth and thicknesswhich is suitably attached to 15 the cover portion, preferably by rivetsextending through holes in the bases of the recesses or slots.

In order that the said invention may be clearly understood and readilycarried into effect, the same will now be described more in GreatBritain February 10, 1930.

accompanying Figure 6 is a section on a larger scale of the rearretaining catch shown-in Figure 1,

Figure 7 is a plan of Figure 6, and Figure 8 is a view of a modifiedconstruction or" the spacing members.

A is the stationary pan portion of the magazine and B is the rotarycover portion or impeller. The said pan portion A has a hollow boss Aformed on its outer surface with a helical grooveA for the reception ofthe bullets of the cartridges and also has a number of communicatingcompartments A? for the rims of the cartridges as is well understood. Inthe example shown there are three such compartments and these may, ifdesired, be replaced by a helical support corresponding to the helicalgroove A The rotary cover portion or impeller B has downwardly extendingspacing members which,

according to the present invention, are constituted by radially disposedwalls which extend a substantial distance towards the axis of rotationof the cover portion; these walls, in the example shown by Figures 1 to5, are constituted by the side members B of U- shaped brackets thetransverse members B of which are riveted to the cover portion, whilstthe outer part of each side member receives a pin B which extends thewhole depth of the side member and is riveted to the cover portion. Eachof .the said brackets receives a cartridge between its side members Band the brackets are spaced so as to receive other cartridges in thespaces as shown in Figure 2. In the example shown the magazine isdesigned to receive 35 cartridges in WESTMINSTER, ENGLAND, A i

each compartment and in this case, and in all cases where the number isan odd one, a singlesided bracket is provided as well as the appropriatenumber of double-sided brackets;

this single-sided bracket is shown at the lefthand side of Figure 4 (itsside member, transverse member and pin being represented by B, l3 and 13and desired it may be made integral with its adjacent double sidedbracket. The aforesaid cover portion B is displaced by a spiral spring Bhoused within the aforesaid hollow boss A One end of the said spring isconnected to a part B which depends from the cover portion and fitsWithin the said hollow boss and the other end of the spring is attachedto a sleeve C surrounding an internal spigot A within the boss A Thissleeve is normally connected to the said spigot by a catch or key C andis provided with an actuating handle C When the catch or key C is movedinto its disengaging position the spring 13* can be wound up by means ofthe said handle C after which the catch or key is operated to re connectthe sleeve G to the spigot A he cover portion 13 is intermittentlyreleased, so that it can perform its step-by-step movement, by theremoval of a cartridge from the pan portion A by the bolt D (Figure 1)of the gun during its forward movement. Each cartridge as it issues froma gap in the lower wall of the pan portion A is held by. means oflongitudinal guide members A (Figures 1 and 3) thereon until it isdisplaced forwardly by a spring-controlled pawl D on the bolt; this pawlpasses between the guide members A and when the cartridge comes clear oftheir forward ends the cover portion 13 can again move to bring anothercartridge into position between the guide members, the pawl D ridingover this car tridge when the bolt moves rearward.

The drum magazine constructed as hereinbefore described has the lowerpart of the pan portion A formed at its front and rear with members A A,A for co -operating with spring controlled catches E, E carried by thecasing of the gun, these catches serving to hold the magazine inposition on the gun without the necessity of providing the usual spigotor pin projecting from the casing. The front member A is composed of aflat projection or lug engaging beneath the front spring controlledcatch E which is preferably carried by the base portion of the rearsight of the gun, the edge of this projection or lug engaging with acorresponding recess in the catch. The rear members A, A are constitutedby two spaced projections or lugs which fit one on each side of part Eof the rear spring controlled catch E which is carried by a bracket E onthe gun casing, this catch also having parts E, E which engage with theupper surfaces of the said projections or lugs. The part E engagingbetween the projections or lugs A A serves in conjunction with the catchE, to hold the magazine in the correct angular position and the parts EE engaging with the upper surfaces serve, also in conjunction with thecatch E, to hold the magazine flat against the gun casing. In theconstruction shown the part E is constituted by a block carried by thecatch E and recessed to receive one end of a helical compression springE the other end of which is housed in a plug E -screwed into the bracketE As shown in Figure 6 the catch E and block E are retracted by a memberE having an arm E projecting into the catch and block; this member ispivoted to lugs E E on the. bracket E and may be operated by a flap Epivoted to the said lugs bythe pivot pin of the member I In the modifiedconstruction according to Figure 8, there is a metal ring B ofsubstantial depth and thickness in which a number of slots or recesses Bare produced, by milling or other operations, for the reception of thecartridges. The portions B between these recesses form the aforesaidwalls constituting the spacing members for the cartridges. The said ringis suitably attached to the cover portion or impeller preferably byrivets ex tending through holes B in the bases of some of the recesses.

What we claim and desire to secure by Let- I i ters Patent of the UnitedStates is 2- 1. In a drum magazine for machine guns and automaticsmallarms, the combination of a stationary pan portion, means on Saldj'f panportion for guiding the cartridges towards the discharge openingin thebase of the pan portion, a movable cover portion, and brackets ofU-shape projecting inwardly from said cover portion, the side members ofsaid brackets extending a substantial distance towards the axis ofrotation of the cover portion and constituting spacing members for thecartridges.

2. In a drum magazine for machine guns and automatic small arms, thecombination of a statlonary pan portion, means on said pan portion forguiding the cartridges towards the discharge opening in the base of thepan portion, a movable cover portion, brackets of U-shape projectinginwardly from said cover portion, the side members of said bracketsextending a substantial distance towards the axis of rotation of thecover portion and constituting spacing members for the cartridges,rivets securing the transverse members of said brackets to said coverportion and a pin passing through the outer part of each side memher,said pin extending the whole depth of the side member and being rivetedto the cover portion.

3. In a drum magazine for machine guns and automatic small arms, thecombination of a stationary pan portion, means on said pan portion forguiding the cartridges towards the discharge opening in the base of thepan portion, a movable cover portion, a ring of substantial depth andthickness on the inner side of said cover portion, said ring beingformed with recesses or grooves to form radial walls which extend asubstantial distance towards the axis of rotation of the cover portionand constitute spacing members for the cartridges, and rivets extendingthrough holes in the bases of the recesses or grooves for attaching thering to the cover portion.

4:. In a drum magazine for machine guns and automatic small arms, thecombination of a stationary pan portion, means on said pan portion forguiding the cartridges towards the discharge opening in the base of thepan portion, a movable cover portion, cartridge spacing members on saidcover portion, a hollow boss on said pan portion, a spiral spring housedwithin said hollow boss, a part depending from the cover portion andfitting within said hollow boss which thus serves as a bearing for saidpart, a sleeve, one end of said spring bein connected to said dependingpart and the other end to said sleeve, and means for detachablyconnecting said sleeve to said pan portion.

5. In a drum magazine for machine guns and automatic small arms, thecombination with the elements claimed in claim 1, of a hollow boss onsaid pan portion, a spiral spring housed within said hollow boss, a partdepending from the cover portion and fitting within said hollow bosswhich thus serves as a bearing for said part, a sleeve, one end of saidspring being connected to said depending part and the other end to saidsleeve, and means for detachably connecting said sleeve to said panportion.

6. In a drum magazine for machine guns and automatic small arms, thecombination of a stationary pan portion, means on said pan portion forguiding the cartridges towards the discharge opening in the base of thepan portion, a movable cover portion, cartridge spacing members on saidcover portion, and longitudinal guide members, on the outer surface ofthe base of said pan portion for holding each cartridge as it issuesfrom the discharge opening and guiding it during its forward movementfor in sertion into the gun.

7. In a drum magazine for machine guns and automatic small arms, thecombination with the elements claimed in claim 1, of longitudinal guidemembers on the outer surface of the base of said pan portion for holdingeach cartridge as it issues from the discharge opening and guiding itduring its forward movement for insertion into the gun.

8. In a drum magazine for machine guns and automatic small arms, thecombination of a stationary pan portion, means on said pan portion forguiding the cartridges towards the discharge opening in the base of thepan portion, a movable cover portion, cartridge spacing members on saidcover portion, a member on the front of the lower part of the panportion for engaging with a s rin -controlled catch on the un casin anda member on the rear of the lower part of the pan portion for engagingwith another spring-controlled catch on the gun casing, said catchesserving to hold the magazine in position without the necessity ofproviding the usual spigot or pin projecting from the gun casing.

9. In a drum magazine for machine guns and automatic small arms, thecombination with the elements claimed in claim 1, of a member on thefront of the lower part of the pan portion for engaging with aspring-controlled catch on'the gun casing, and a member on the rear ofthe lower part of the pan porton for engaging with anotherspringcontrolled catch on the gun casing, said catches serving to holdthe magazine in position without the necessity of providing the usualspigot or pin projecting from the gun casmg.

10. In a drum magazine for machine guns and automatic small arms, thecombination of a stationary pan portion, means on said pan portion forguiding the cartridges towards the discharge opening in the base of thepan portion, a movable cover portion, cartridge spacing members on saidcover portion, a fiat projection on the front of the lower part of thepan portion for engaging beneath a spring-controlled catch on the guncasing, and two spaced projections on the rear of the lower part of thepan portion for engaging on each side of and also beneath anotherspring-controlled catch on the gun casing, said catches serving to holdthe magazine in position without the necessity of providing the usualspigot or pin projecting from the gun casing.

11. In a drum magazine for machine guns and automatic small arms, thecombination with the elements claimed in claim 1, of a flat projectionon the front of the lower part of the pan portion for engaging beneath aspring-controlled catch on the gun casing, and two spaced projections onthe rear of the lower part of the pan portion for engaging on each sideof and also beneath another spring-controlled catch on the gun casing,said catches serving to hold the magazine in position without thenecessity of providing the usual spigot or pin projecting from the guncasing.

CARL ALFRED LARSSON. PERCY REUBEN HIG-SON.

